Why is the climate change debate a political one in the United States?

Tuesday nights elections put Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska in charge of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The senator is blaming Icelands volcano on global warming: "The emissions that are being put in the air by that volcano are a thousand years' worth of emissions that would come from all of the vehicles, all of the manufacturing in Europe."

"What can I say?" wonders Princeton professor Michael Oppenheimer, a leading expert on climate change. "It's simply untrue. I don't know where she gets that number from Annual emissions from Europe are 10 times bigger than the annual emissions of all volcanoes put together

(Source: NPR.org)

She gets her information from years of scientific research. She is correct in her statement. NPR is promoting this All Gore agenda.

She gets her information from years of scientific research. She is correct in her statement. NPR is promoting this All Gore agenda.

Originally Posted by hydrogen3

Not at all. Read the articles I've posted.

Originally Posted by hydrogen3

No I was not joking.

Here's the senator's statement: "The emissions that are being put in the air by that volcano are a thousand years' worth of emissions that would come from all of the vehicles, all of the manufacturing in Europe." Please produce a scientific research that supports her statement.

Here's the senator's statement: "The emissions that are being put in the air by that volcano are a thousand years' worth of emissions that would come from all of the vehicles, all of the manufacturing in Europe." Please produce a scientific research that supports her statement.

Punting is a better word, in this case.
Yahoo Answers isn't a site for serious scientific research, sorry. I don't even know who the writer ("nerd") is. Not only that, but the senator is blaming ONE volcano!... What troubles me is that Sen. Lisa Murkowski will be in charge of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Punting is a better word, in this case.
Yahoo Answers isn't a site for serious scientific research, sorry. I don't even know who the writer ("nerd") is. Not only that, but the senator is blaming ONE volcano!... What troubles me is that Sen. Lisa Murkowski will be in charge of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Punting? Chuckles!!

I said I will post more later. She should be. I can't think of a better person. She will do a fine job. And get our energy and natural resources under control.

Yes punting. But now you're dodging!
I'm not arguing climate change with you. I'm trying to point out that you're digging a hole around her statement. There's absolutely-positively no scientific truth in her statement: None! She might do a fine job as a chairperson. Or she might not. But that has nothing to do with my dismay at her statement.

Yes punting. But now you're dodging!
I'm not arguing climate change with you. I'm trying to point out that you're digging a hole around her statement. There's absolutely-positively no scientific truth in her statement: None! She might do a fine job as a chairperson. Or she might not. But that has nothing to do with my dismay at her statement.

Silly. I'm not dodging a damn thing. I support her 100% her statement is correct.

Man Made Global Warming is a complete SCAM! The liberal media, left-wing politicians, rabid socialists and nutty environmentalists want us to believe that humans have the ability to go up against the power of Mother Nature.

Silly. I'm not dodging a damn thing. I support her 100% her statement is correct.

You can support her 120% as far as I care, but it doesn't make her incorrect statement correct. For reference, I'm quoting you below: You are demanding an answer from palandri, yet you've dodged a straight-forward answer to mine. Instead, you linked me to a bogus comment in Yahoo by someone named "nerd," who didn't support her statement anyway.
So let me sum up our discussion: You cannot back the senator's statement up because there's no scientific spine to it. None.

Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano is emitting between 150,000 and 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per day, a figure placing it in the same emissions league as a small-to-medium European economy, experts said on Monday.

The atmosphere contains only 0.001 per cent of all carbon at the surface of the Earth and far greater quantities are present in the lower crust and mantle of the Earth. Human additions of CO2 to the atmosphere must be taken into perspective. Over the past 250 years, humans have added just one part of CO2 in 10,000 to the atmosphere. One volcanic cough can do this in a day.